LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17486, 2 June 1920, Page 8

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

V:■•- ■>!+• • - - - '. THE PRICE OF BUTTER. Sir,—Seeing that ; "Consumer," in the Herald, ot ' May 31, has v issued a challenge, I crave a little space -to take up *amo. The world price for butter is now 3s a pound, or more, less expenses. Then why should a New Zealand - producer bo forced, to accept less than 2s 3d, When 9d is "tho cost of putting same on. the market. Neither Mr. Gooafellow nor anyone else inflates land values. ' It is simply a case of demand and supply, and it will be worse. , Does " Consumer " know that there are now 10,000 people waiting for passages to Now Zealand? As to (ho selling price of land it may surprise him to know that the Government has raised the values 100 per cent. ' The land' tax of Ujd will npw on the value of the past be equal to 3d. It may interest " Consumer " to read that the sealing price of milk to the producer will scon reach Is 9d per gallon. Now how many dairy farmers can retire or ever do? A Civil servant at 60 is retired, with a'pension. Why not the farmer.?, May I ask how many days this last three weeks of awful weather ' has " Consumer" been up between 5 and 6 a.m. in the cold, mud. and wet, milking cows, or how many years has he worked-14 to 16 hours per diem, hot or cold. Does not " Consumer" also buy his wares as cheap as be can, and pot the last halfpenny possible for them. Of courso be does, or he must have como out of the Ark. No Government can put an embargo on farm produce. Itmust sell at the world's market price. Tbo same applies to tho price of boots and clothes. As for the farmers being better off on land bought 10, . years ago than ever, well Consumer is a long, lone way out of it,. Mv land was bought 20 years ago, and owing to taxes, rales, seed and manure and world's charges generally, 1 cannot farm it at a 6 per cent, profit, nor could anyone else. Fiun'-IS.Diuice. Papatoctoe, June 1, 1320-Sir,-I know several dairy farmers who bought .their land at a reasonable figure and who are making a good profit on the present price of butter. No doubt others who have paid inflated prices for their laud Are burdened with heavy mortgages, and are not getting 3 per cent, on their investment. To compensate these people by increasing the price of butter would be nil ndd : tional bit of encouragement fov the land sharks that infest this country. _ In the Herald, of May 31. "Puty Price" says that dried milk shows the* farmer four times the profit of butter. That only shows the necessity of controlling the price of dried milk also, fine price to t>'o consumer has reeentlv risen from 5s 9d to 8s per ton). If ibis sort of thing is nVowed to po on indefinitely we shall see dairy land fetrhine £500 tier acre, butter 10s a pound, tho worker claim'n? £10 per w«ek as a minimum wagf—and the farmer still grumbling about not jreU-'nc his 6 per cent. Ricnn. Simmons.